Fables

• Title: Fairest #23
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Marc Andreyko
• Artist: Shawn McManus

Following the attempted assassination of her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella continues to search for answers as to the identity of the person in control of the rat men’s attacks on Snow White and pulling the strings of the assassin sent to dispatch her godmother. Jumping around the globe, Cinderella will reunite with an old lover, finding a moment of peace in the eye of the storm, before also discovering that an old friend and enemy both mixed up in things.

The end of the issue brings Cinderella face-to-face with her stepsister (who has just shot a second person Cinderella cares for in front of her) setting up what should be a not-so-nice sisterly reunion next month.

Fairest #23 also gives quite a bit of time to one of the house rats turned into a man for Cinderella’s ball who has stayed human all these years (no turning back into a pumpkin for him) and may be the first real clue as allow Cinderella to discover what is going on. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $2.99]

• Title: Fables #137
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Bill Willingham
• Artist: Mark Buckingham

The Camelot storyline comes to an end as Rose Red chooses her first six new Knights of the Round Table (Brump, Wellstuffed, Bo Peep, Reynard, Maeve, and Lancelot), we see the power of her actions begin to manifest, and Lancelot discovers (much to his dismay) his role this time around.

Although the arc comes to an end, and much of the focus is on Red and her quest, the perspective of the issue is from that of Snow White‘s intriguing daughter Winter who is simultaneously both a small child wanting to protect her mother and a wise and immensely power creature of nature slowly building her own forces should there come a time when Rose Red and Snow White’s dispute turns violent.

Fables #136 also foreshadows the return of Bigby with the completion of his statue (except from a tiny piece made into a ring) and some ominous words from Winter suggesting that the wolf’s eventual return may not be the cause for celebration all may hope it be. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $2.99]

• Title: Fairest #22
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Marc Andreyko
• Artist: Shawn McManus

Believing her fairy godmother to be the most likely suspect behind the rat men’s attacks on Snow White and herself, Cinderella heads to Ultima Thule where the witch has spent the last several years caged in the dungeon (or so everyone thinks). Finding the godmother’s wand but not the woman herself, Cinderella and Dickory head to Amsterdam to usher the absent-minded old woman suffering from Alzheimer’s out of a smoky pot den right before being attacked by another group of rat men.

The mystery thickens as the fairy godmother, not Cinderella, proves to be the target. And the woman pulling the trigger is someone whom she once knew quite well. Fairest #22 offers a couple of pieces to the puzzle, but none that give away anything about the reason behind the attempted assassinations and why a defenseless old woman was on the hit list.

Once again Marc Andreyko and artist Shawn McManus offer a fun adventure for Cindy and her mousey pal but we’ll have to wait at least one more issue to discover the identity of the man who has hired Cinderella’s step-sister as an assassin and what his end game entails. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $2.99]

• Title: Fairest #21
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Marc Andreyko
• Artist: Shawn McManus

For two years, since learning of the upcoming Fables spin-off, this is the storyline I have been waiting for. My initial foray into the Fables Universe didn’t come through the main title but a pair of mini-series featuring Cinderella. I immediately fell in love with the princess turned spy and I have been patiently (well, mostly patiently) awaiting her first appearance in Fairest. The wait is over.

Attacks on the life of Snow White and Cinderella’s shop bring the two Fables together (after Cinderella extricates herself from a group of trolls involved in sex trafficking) for the first issue of the series’ latest arc. Fairest #21 gives both female leads an opportunity to kick some ass and get their hands dirty as I’m sure the following issues will delve deeper into who is targeting them, and why.

I love the choice of returning artist Shawn McManus to draw the character (as he did for both Cinderella: Fables are Forever and Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love) and I’m looking forward to see where he and writer Marc Andreyko take Cinderella from here. Best of the week.

[Vertigo, $2.99]